by Carol Memmott, USA TODAY

by Carol Memmott, USA TODAY

Barricade the door and hide your valuables. The Vikings, those fierce and fearless warriors, raid our shores this weekend as History premieres its scripted series about the legendary Norsemen.

Vikings, a nine-part series starting Sunday (10 ET/PT), created and written by Michael Hirst (Elizabeth, The Tudors), presents the Norse warriors in all their bloody, battling glory, but also showcases their adventurous spirit, their love of family, and their equally brave and courageous women.

Following the blockbuster success of History's first scripted drama, Hatfields & McCoys, last year, the cable channel has high hopes for Vikings, says History's Dirk Hoogstra. "We know our brand very well, and know what our viewers are looking for whether it's a scripted project or a reality project."

The three nights of Hatfields & McCoys became the top three entertainment telecasts of all time on ad-supported cable among total viewers, averaging 17.1 million total viewers and winning Emmys for lead actor Kevin Costner and supporting actor Tom Berenger.

While little written history of the Norsemen exists, Vikings wraps its story around Ragnar Lothbrok, a historical figure played by Travis Fimmel (The Beast, Baytown Outlaws), who says Ragnar believed he was a descendant of the Norse god Odin.

"Legend has it that Odin sacrificed an eye to look down a well of knowledge to learn more about the world, and he actually hung himself because he was so intrigued about what death would feel like," Fimmel says. "And Ragnar's very curious as well. He really wanted to know what else was in the world and was willing to sacrifice everything to sail west and find other countries."

Ragnar's main motivation is his curiosity, says Fimmel, "but he's not just interested in navigating the ocean, and his travels west are not just about raiding and pillaging." Fimmel says Ragnar "was fascinated by how people look and what gods they worshiped. He was sort of a new breed of Viking, and that mostly brings him a lot of conflict with the older order."

The older order in this series is represented by local chieftain Earl Haraldson, played by Gabriel Byrne (In Treatment), who attempts to squelch Ragnar's wanderlust and coerce him into adhering to the old ways. It also stars Gustaf Skarsgard as Floki, the man responsible for building the Viking ships that would carry Ragnar and his men across the North Sea to England's shores. Clive Standen is Rollo, Ragnar's impetuous brother, and Katheryn Winnick (Bones, Love and Other Drugs) plays Ragnar's wife Lagertha.

While History's viewership generally skews male, Hatfields drew female viewers as well thanks to its portrayals of family and marital relationships on its Romeo-and-Juliet subplot. As macho as Vikings might sound, Hoogstra promises there's plenty to appeal to women. "There's a family story in there. There are strong female characters. That was important to us. That was important to Michael (Hirst) as he was writing it, that there were really strong female characters."

"Lagertha is a strong woman who has a true partnership with her husband and is definitely very forward-thinking," says Winnick. "She's a real role model for any woman in that time period, and even now. Doing research, I fell in love with her."

Winnick says the role of Lagertha was a perfect fit for her. "I was looking for a role I could sink my teeth into," she says, explaining that Lagertha, an actual historical figure, was a "shield maiden," a fearless warrior who fought alongside men on the battlefields. The physicality of the role appealed to the athleticism of Winnick, who holds a second degree black belt in karate.

Even though Vikings was filmed in Ireland rather than Scandinavia, the production, says Hoogstra, strives for historical accuracy despite the limited available written history of the Vikings.

"It was critically important to us that there was authenticity to the costuming and the weaponry, and we were meticulous about the boats, how they were built and what kind of wood was used. We wanted that world to be very authentic and anchored in as much fact as we could possibly get."